Bunker Institute

Bunker Institute is a non-profit organisation for the realisation and organisation of cultural events established in 1997 by Nevenka Koprivšek. Bunker produces and presents contemporary theatre and dance performances and organises one of the most noted international theatre and dance festivals, the Mladi levi ("Young Lions") Festival. It also manages the performing arts venue Old Power Station in Ljubljana.

Overview

Bunker produces works by different performing arts and dance makers, such as Sanja Nešković Peršin, Jurij Konjar, Mala Kline, Magdalena Reiter, and Jette Ostan Verjup. These 'house artists' tour international festivals, while several international authors have also been presented to Ljubljana audiences as part of Junge Hunde network events. In its productions, Bunker focuses on works that employ innovative approaches, intertwine different art disciplines, as well as offer reflections on topical cultural, political, and social issues. Since 1999, Bunker is also the producer of the physical theatre group Betontanc, led by Matjaž Pograjc.

Since 2004 Bunker has been running the programme of the performing arts venue Stara Elektrarna - Old Power Station in Ljubljana. The programme consists of theatre and dance performance production, concerts, educational activities, and presentations of different art projects. The facilities are used for rehearsals, education (dance, art management, and other workshops), and stage performances.

Aiming to expand the existing notions of the function and meaning of art in general, Bunker initiated in 2007 the project Sy(e)nergy [Si(e)nergija] – an interdisciplinary open forum intended to a creative understanding of changes and stimulation of collaboration among artists, scientists, and practitioners. Attempting to spark up a dialogue between the seemingly incompatible disciplines (art/science) and possibly provide answers to burning global issues, the project's events (lectures, round tables, presentations, films) focused on areas of electric energy, housing, and transport.

Bunker has developed several collaborative projects, one of them being the renovation and revival of the cultural house in Medana, a small city in Goriška region, where workshops have been organised in cooperation with the local community. Thus Medana is becoming an international residency centre, an important meeting point for a number of international networks and projects, and a venue, which through 2009 also hosted the international festival Days of Poetry and Wine.

In 2008, Bunker co-organised (with P.A.R.A.S.I.T.E. Institute and Obrat Association) the first Complaints Choir in Slovenia.

Festivals

Since 1998 Bunker has organised the annual international festival of theatre and dance Mladi levi. Taking place at the end of summer, the festival showcases groups and artists with distinctive and original ideas and disciplines from all over the world. Since 2002 Bunker has co-organised Drugajanje Festival together with the 2nd Grammar School in Maribor, which aims to affirm contemporary dance and theatre art among the young with a wide programme of performances, workshops, and lectures.

International cooperation

Bunker has a long history of participating in various international cooperation and collaboration projects which have garnered support from different funding programmes of the European Commission (Culture 2000, Culture 2007–2013, etc.).

Bunker is one of original members of the international network Junge Hunde which stimulates the mobility of young and promising artists. Further, Bunker collaborated in the international project Sites of Imagination, led by Alkantara, Lisbon (PT) and co-organised by Carovana, Cagliari (IT), L'Officina, Marseille (FR), L'Animal a l'Esquena, Girona (ES). The project focuses on cultural development of the Mediterranean region through exchange and cultural dialogue and is supported through the European Commission. Although primarily a research project, which included a number of artists from different countries and artistic disciplines, the project resulted in the performance Début - In Memory of Coming [Debut - v spomin prihodnjega] by the dancer and choreographer Mala Kline, which premièred in 2007 in Girona, Spain.

In 2009 Bunker joined the project Sostenuto - thinking culture as a factor of economic and social innovation, launched by Expeditio - Center for Sustainable Spatial Development, which aims at reinforcing the competitiveness and the capacities of economic and social innovation from the cultural and creative sector in the Mediterranean space by accompanying its transformation towards new economic and social models.

Bunker is a member of the following international networks: Junge Hunde, Theorem, International Network for Contemporary Performing Arts (IETM) and its satellite subgroup Balkan Express, Danse Bassin Mediterranéen – DBM, and the Slovene Asociacija, Association of Arts and Culture NGOs and Freelancers.

External Links

Bunker Institute

Contents

Overview

Festivals

International cooperation

See also

External Links

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Financed by